Artful Experiences During the Holidays: An NEA Crowdsourced Post

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! ’Tis the season, and in NEA fashion, we found a reason to blend the arts with the holidays. For this crowdsourced post, we asked NEA staff to share what artful experiences they are looking forward to during the holiday season. We hope that the responses below bring you great cheer and inspire you to create your own artful experiences with friends and family. Happy holidays!

"I look forward to performing in a holiday concert as a percussionist with my community band. My favorite piece to play is “Sleigh Ride,” because it features sleigh bells, temple blocks that imitate horse hooves, and a pair of hinged boards that can be clapped together to imitate the crack of the whip. This year, I’m playing glockenspiel and xylophone, but regardless of which part I play, it’s always a fun piece to perform!”
—Beth Bienvenu

“I’m looking forward to taking some mosaic or glass fusing classes at a studio I discovered recently. I’m also looking forward to receiving the kintsugi kit to repair the glass piece I’ve already made and broken.”
—Kelli Rogowski

“For my family, we always try to catch Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show, make old fashioned potato latkes for Hanukkah (Hanukkah starts on December 18th this year), and capture as many nature photos from our holiday hikes in our great national parks.”
—Michael Orlove

“Growing up, my family had a mixtape of all our favorite Christmas music spanning many genres and including some funny voice-over interludes. Last year, we digitized the mixtape, so I’m looking forward to playing it on repeat and also continuing the tradition by collaborating with my family to make a second volume for the new generation.”
—Jennie Terman

“I am looking forward to taking my daughter, Catherine (age 9), to see The Washington Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. She has been taking a jazz dance class the past few months and will begin ballet class in the new year.”
—Erin Waylor

“I'm looking forward to getting back to working on some collages and possibly a quilt or two, the start, I hope, of next year's Christmas presents for my family and friends.”
—Paulette Beete

“Storytelling is at the center of my family’s holiday traditions. The past vividly comes back to life through the stories we share and the people and places we remember.”
—Daniel Beattie

“During this holiday season, I am so grateful for family and friends. Customary to my family beliefs in the reason for the season being the birth of Christ, we thoroughly enjoy attending the Christmas play at our church. We look forward to this year’s play, Someway, Somehow, held at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, filled with great musical arrangements, dancing, acting, lighting, design, and outstanding vocalists."
—Tamika Shingler

“I am looking forward to participating in painting giant Christmas cards that are displayed outside of houses (or in my case, inside a condo window) within a nearby neighborhood. Throughout the neighborhood, there are card painting parties where anyone can walk up and participate.”
—Carolyn Bartley

“I'm going to Italy over the holidays, so I'm expecting two weeks of artful experiences including (especially) some extraordinary food; but, I'm most looking forward to wandering through the streets of Venice with friends—lost and awestruck."
—Josephine Reed

“Over the holidays I look forward to catching up on some movies, reading…and more reading! Also, I hope to snag tickets to Round House Theatre’s production of The Tempest, with Teller codirecting.”
—Sunil Iyengar

"I'll be making a dent in the ridiculous pile of novels on my bedside table, starting with Jess Walter's The Cold Millions, an NEA Big Read selection."
—David Low

“Every December, we take our young kids to a local middle school theater production. It’s magical for everyone and a great way to support arts education in the district. This year, we’ll be seeing The Lion King Jr. at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.”
—Eleanor Billington

“I’m looking forward to some old-fashioned caroling with friends this season. And I always enjoy experimenting in culinary arts when I have extra time.”
—Allison Hill

“Two of my favorite artful experiences are a theater double feature and supporting local arts organizations. This month, I’ll be taking a Sunday to do both in Arlington, VA, with a double feature of NEA grantee Signature Theatre's production of Into the Woods, in the afternoon, followed by their production of Ana Nogueira’s Which Way to the Stage about Idina Menzel superfans—which is something I can relate to! I’m also excited to compare the recent concert-style Broadway production of Into the Woods with Signature’s fully staged version with local DMV actors.”
—Greg Reiner

“We have a family tradition of playing Christmas carols for my grandparents. We have violins, violas, and a keyboard, and my kids play maracas and xylophones. We try to get other family members to sing, but they usually decline!”
—Jenn Chang

“This holiday season, I’m looking forward to a night in Washington, DC, to watch The Nutcracker, which has become a favorite tradition. I also plan to visit a Christmas market/holiday craft show to find some local handmade gifts and hopefully get inspiration to make some of my own!”
—Nicole Phillips

“In recent years, my family has incorporated the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod into our holiday festivities. On Christmas Eve, we gift books to each other and read them together by the fireplace while sipping hot cocoa. Not only does Jolabokaflod introduce me to new books every year, but it brings my family together in such a unique way.”
—Chloe Akazawa